The Beginning of All Things

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. This was the start of all things. Before this there was nothing at all but God himself. Then God made everything out of nothing. The world has not always been here, before its creation it was not here at all. Then by his almighty power God made our universe and all that it contains. We cannot fully understand this and must accept what God says about it in his own Word, the Bible. Many people think it is not true. They think that the world must always have been here or that it started with some very big explosion in space. But our world did have a beginning and did not come to be what it is now by very slow changes bit by bit. God made it and everything else in the six days of creation that we read about in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis. Sometimes people say that we cannot prove that these things are true. This is so. We cannot 'prove' that everything was made in this way. Nobody else will ever be able to show that it happened in any other way. Nobody was there. Nobody can do again this great work. Nobody can know anything about it unless they accept what God says about it in his Word.

God says that in the beginning there was nothing but himself. Then he made everything out of nothing. We cannot fully understand this but we can believe it. Many people do not, they even laugh at this truth as foolish. Do not live in such unbelief. Ask God to give you faith to accept his Word and believe what he says. In this way we can be wise to salvation and know where everything came from in the beginning. When we believe we understand that the universe was formed at God's command and we know that he is the Almighty. His power is not only greater than ours but is far, far beyond our understanding. He speaks and it is done. He said, "Let there be light". And there was light. The ancient Hebrews regarded God as the Mighty One. They called him ‘Elohim. This name meant "the strong and mighty One" or "the One to be feared". It is a name that speaks of God's majesty and fullness of power. It is this majesty and power which is clearly shown in God's making all things out of nothing at all. When we know this we praise him for his eternal power and Godhead and look to him to supply all our needs. He alone is the Mighty God the Creator of the ends of the earth.

TO REMEMBER

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1.1)

Question 9. "What is the work of creation?

Answer. The work of creation is, God's making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good." (Shorter Catechism)

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11.3)

WORDS TO LEARN

Write out in your vocabulary book and give the meaning of each of the following words: create, universe, explosion, ancient, majesty.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

A. Copy the following sentences into your note book and complete:

A1. In the b........ God ....... the ...... and the .....

A2. Before this there was nothing but ...

A3. God made everything out of .......

A4. God says this in ... .....

B. Copy the following statements into your note book and put after each one "True" or "False".

B1. The world has always been here.

B2. The Bible teaches that God made everything in six days.

B3. We can prove that God made everything in six days.

B4. We can believe that this world was made in six days by God.

C. Answer these questions:

C1. What can we learn from the creation about God's power?

C2. What do we learn about God from his name ‘Elohim?

THINGS TO DO

1. Paint a picture of the earth as it would be seen from outer space.

2. Using Plasticine make a big model of the earth showing its mountains.

3. Make a list of all the things you have made since last week. Prepare a table like the one below showing what you made on each day.

You can add to your table a column for "Things I needed to make the things I made."

FINDING OUT FOR YOURSELF

Find a book to tell you what the different parts of the atom are called.

Why is the atom so important?

PSALMS TO SING

Give thanks to God, for good is he:

     for mercy hath he ever.

Thanks to the God of gods give ye:

     for his grace faileth never.

Thanks give the Lord of lords unto:

     for mercy hath he ever.

Who only wonders great can do:

     for his grace faileth never.

Who by his wisdom made heav'ns high:

     for mercy hath he ever.

Who stretch'd the earth above the sea:

     for his grace faileth never.

See also Psalm 148.